unLTD. Connecting business across Sheffield City Region #47 by unLTD magazine

FEBRUARY 2022 | ISSUE 47 | FREE | UNLTDBUSINESS.COM

EAGLES

MAKE THEIR

MARK Return to Sheffield for the city’s rugby league club provides reasons to be positive for the future

IF YOU ASK ME:

SPORT IN THE COMMUNITY

: N O S U C FO

Y G R E EN TS COS

ON TRACK FOR SUCCESS ● STARTER’S ORDERS FOR RACE TO BE MAYOR ● YOUR PITCH

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TIPS FOR RECRUITING IN 2022! At last, we’re seeing that recruitment trends and figures seem to be back to a ‘typical January’, compared to last year. What does a ‘typical January’ in recruitment look like? Lots of excellent candidates looking for roles at businesses just like yours! What’s new? This year, there are fresh candidates out in the job market. Many stayed in safe roles to see out the pandemic and are now looking for a new challenge. This means that there is a pool of talented people out there who can bring both knowledge and experience to a role. What should our application process look like? It’s a competitive job market, so make sure your job description and application process are clear and concise. Applicants don’t want to read vague adverts, long-winded application forms and redirect links. Candidates also want to know what the salary is so they can benchmark this against what they currently earn. Be open minded. Many prospective employees will be applying for roles whilst juggling lifestyle changes, childcare, working or studying. They want to read your advert, make sure it’s right for them and upload their tailored CV. A CV is a working document that they take pride in and will often tweak to highlight their competencies relevant to your role, but if they haven’t done the exact role, or worked in the same industry as you,

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ROB SHAW, MD OF GLU RECRUIT

be open minded about their transferable skills. Set some timescales! The world is ever-changing, and people don’t have time to wait around – that includes you and the candidates. As a result of the pandemic, there has been an increased pace in employers hiring and with competition higher than ever you will need to act quickly to increase your chances of securing the best candidate. Make sure you have a time frame of when you would ideally like the role to start. Don’t put adverts out too late – people could get another offer in the meantime. Equally, don’t put your adverts out too early – people must work their notice and you could find yourself losing a good

candidate because they can’t wait for you. Set a closing date and make sure you respond to their application. A simple email saying “if you haven’t heard from us by a specific date, your application is unsuccessful” is perfectly acceptable to include. Be flexible! Give the applicants some notice for their interviews and allow them time to prepare. Many will need to sort time off work, childcare and more. Consider alternative interview methods to make it easier for the candidate to meet with you. Could you offer a virtual interview to ease the time burden? We have all had to be adaptable throughout the

pandemic, and this is set to continue. Jobseekers are actively looking for flexibility with new roles. The Office for National Statistics found that of adults currently homeworking, 85 per cent wanted to use a hybrid approach of both home and office working in future. Can you make these adjustments to secure the best talent? Finally, if recruiting is feeling somewhat overwhelming, we’re here to help. We don’t just specialise in recruiting candidates; we also work with businesses to retain talent and keep their teams happy. Contact us today on 0114 321 1873 or hello@glurecruit.co.uk to see what Glu can do for you.

AGENDA APPOINTMENTS

CURRENT VACANCIES

ABOUT GLU RECRUIT Glu Recruit are a full-service recruitment agency established in 2016. We specialise in temporary, permanent, contract and graduate recruitment – offering a tailored solution from entry level to senior management and board level spanning your entire organisation.

As an independent recruitment agency, we focus on the long-term stick of the placement. Whether you’re a candidate looking to make a career move, or an employer looking to add to your team, our thorough and proactive recruitment and retention service ensures you are well looked after! Call: 0114 321 1873 Email: hello@glurecruit.co.uk www.glurecruit.co.uk

Role: Project Manager Salary: £25K Location: Sheffield Sector: Technology Role: Business Development Manager Salary: OTE £40-£50K Location: Sheffield Sector: Marketing/Creative Role: Senior IT Field Engineer Salary: £30-£40K Location: Sheffield Sector: IT Managed Service Provider

SHORTS EXPAND CORPORATE FINANCE TEAM WITH NEW APPOINTMENTS Shorts’ Corporate Finance team are delighted to announce the appointment of Eleanor Heslop as corporate finance executive earlier this month. Eleanor joins Shorts with several years' experience working within the local accountancy profession. Her appointment follows that of Connor Marshall, who joined the team last year in response to increasing levels of activity. Andy Ryder, corporate finance partner, said: “I am delighted to welcome both Eleanor and Connor over the

last twelve months. Eleanor joins us during an exciting phase as the Shorts' Corporate Finance team continues to grow, on the back of a record year. “The mergers and acquisition and funding

markets remain very positive and alongside our Employee Ownership Trust specialism we think it is important to further strengthen our team as an essential part of supporting our clients in 2022 and beyond.”

New project leader appointed by CODA Studios Award-winning Sheffield multidisciplinary practice CODA Studios has appointed a new project leader. David Houltby, 46, joins the Kelham Island based company with more than 20 years’ experience in the construction industry. Matt Bowker, CODA managing director, said: “We are delighted to welcome David to the team. He brings a wealth of knowledge to CODA

and will be organising and leading on a major portfolio of projects as we go into an exciting and extremely busy 2022.” CODA Studios has its head offices in Sheffield, and a successful base in Manchester. The CODA Architecture team specialises in city living, housing, student accommodation and commercial projects across the country.

DAVID HOULTBY

Sheffield contact centre CC33 strenghtens with four senior hires CC33 is pleased to announce four new senior appointments to further strengthen its teams and services as the firm continues to expand. The contact centre has appointed head of people Kris Ball, joint head of operations Gavin Roberts, business governance manager Connor Fitzpatrick-Bryne and marketing director Richard Cotton. CC33’s managing director Paul Fletcher, said: “Kris, Gavin, Connor and Richard are fantastic additions to our senior management team, and all boast a wealth of industry experience. “2022 is an exciting year for us as it marks 10 years in business, and we have a series of exciting new developments to announce. “As well as growing our impressive client base we are actively recruiting for a number of new roles across our campaigns.”

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AGE IS NO CAREER BARRIER, SAYS DELLROY Dellroy Blake says age is just a number and retirement will be a long time off after graduating with a BSc (Honours) degree in Mental Health Nursing and taking up a post with Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH) at 58. As a former planner and designer, Dellroy started as bank nursing assistant at RDaSH four years ago at The Woodlands, Rotherham, and has now become a member of the nursing team at the Trust’s Swallownest Court, Rotherham. “It’s a dream come true,” Dellroy said: “My pin number as a registered mental health nurse arrived on 24 December, which was a fantastic early Christmas present.

DELLROY BLAKE

Swallownest Court is a great place to work, and I want to be the best nurse I can possibly be.” RDaSH chief executive Kathryn Singh said: “I’d like

to congratulate Dellroy on his brilliant success and hope that his determination, effort and the support he has received inspires others wanting a new career in the NHS.”

LEFT TO RIGHT: REDBRIK DIRECTORS, PETER LEE, JESSICA RISORTO, MARK ROSS AND DAVID COOPER

Redbrik promote Jessica Risorto to Director Award-winning South Yorkshire and Northeast Derbyshire Estate Agents, Redbrik has promoted Jessica Risorto to director as it looks to develop a greater diversity of skills amongst the senior management team. Since joining the property firm in 2015, Jessica has

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continually delivered and grown in every position within the sales department. She will join managing director Mark Ross and directors David Cooper and Peter Lee as a member of Redbrik’s board of directors. Mark Ross said: “David, Peter and I are thrilled that Jessica will be supporting us

with the delivery of strategic plans in 2022 and beyond.” Redbrik has also announced that Laura Molloy has been promoted to area manager for their Crystal Peaks branch and a new position of head of residential sales will be held by David Cooper alongside his other director duties.

Katie Saunders joins Devonshire Group as People Director Katie Saunders has been appointed as group people director at the Devonshire Group, the company that represents the interests, charities and businesses of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. Having been operating at board level for the past 15 years in High Street retail and 20 years in the motor industry, Katie joins the Devonshire Group with responsibility for more than 1400 employees spread across 65,000 acres. Katie said: “I’m genuinely excited by the challenge. My experience is broad, which I think will be important given the Devonshire Group includes such a variety of businesses. “To be an employer of choice we need to listen to our team and respond to their concerns so I’ll certainly focus on wellbeing and diversity to see what more we can do to further develop a modern, motivated and committed workforce.”

DO YOU HAVE A NEW STARTER?

Tell us your news by emailing: editorial@ unltdbusiness.com

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THE DIARY BY RICHARD FIDLER

Our editor says our local sports clubs are on the ball with their community work

CREATING MEMORIES AND INSPIRING STARS Even if you’re not a fan of rugby league there’s a good chance that you’ll recognise the man on the front cover of this month’s issue. Mark Aston is as synonymous with Sheffield Eagles supporters as Tony Currie is to Sheffield United or David Hirst to Sheffield Wednesday fans. All are legends of their clubs, but the difference with Aston is that he continues to be the main figure at his club through their various ups and downs. I have two main memories of Mark, I’ll come back to the first but the second was winning the Sheffield City Trust golf day at Beauchief Golf Course probably about 12 years ago. In a foursome with Mark and two Eagles players

no one was going to argue when our form was rather better than our handicaps suggested! The first was when Mark and another Eagles star, Darryl Powell, came to All Saints school to put us through our paces during a PE lesson. It’s probably 30 years since he did that which shows the length of time he has been associated with the Eagles and also gives away that I’m getting a bit long in the tooth. Anyway, it is fitting that he is on the front cover as we also profile how our sports teams engage with the local community. Sports clubs cannot afford to neglect those closest to them and it’s great to hear how they inspire the next

generation of talent. I have a particular affinity with Sheffield Sharks having reported on them for several local newspapers for more than a decade. I know the work they do and how seriously their players take their responsibility in showcasing the sport of basketball. The Sharks have forged an excellent partnership with B Braun Medical, who, through their own community goals, joined forces with their neighbours in Chapeltown to deliver programmes focussed on children’s health. Another sport which is doing great things is cricket. It’s hard not to have seen the coverage around Yorkshire County Cricket Club over the past few months but at ground

level the Yorkshire Cricket Board is heavily involved in communities across the county. In South Yorkshire the Board’s team – led by Gareth Davis – is having a big push on increasing the number of women and girls who play the sport. Clubs are popping up around the county to cater for this growing demand and it’s a great example of showing that if you provide the means to play a sport then people will come. I didn’t end up being a rugby league star (funnily enough), but the impact of having professionals come to my school lasted longer in my memory than the bruises on my body.

Got views of your own? Let me know: richard@unltdbusiness.com LinkedIn: Richard Fidler

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ON TRACK FOR SUCCESS: HOW BELL & BUXTON SOLICITORS SUPPORT CYCLING SENSATION CHARLOTTE PARNHAM When associate solicitor, Charlotte Higgins, was told to get on her bike by employers Bell & Buxton Solicitors she was overjoyed. Successful cyclist, Charlotte Higgins, who competes under her maiden name of Parnham, has been fully supported in her cycling hobby by “family firm” Bell & Buxton Solicitors, who have enabled her to achieve her many titles through a supportive environment and flexible working.

Bell & Buxton Solicitors is a highly regarded Sheffieldbased law firm that specialises in personal and business law providing quality legal advice and exceptional client service. Charlotte said: “The firm appreciate I have goals outside of work and they help me to achieve them. It has been really reassuring to have the

backing of work when I’m trying to compete. “Cycling has always been a hobby and since 2018 I’ve taken it really seriously and I’ve achieved a lot, but I’ve only been able to do this through an understanding work environment at Bell & Buxton.” Charlotte became a National Masters Pursuit

Champion in 2018 (including World Record), 2019 and 2021. At the same event, Charlotte also became a 500 metre Time Trial Champion in 2018 (including British Record), 2019 and again in 2021. A talented cyclist, riding for Dame Sarah Storey’s team, Storey Racing, Charlotte holds the British record for the flying

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AGENDA

CHARLOTTE’S NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS: National Masters Pursuit Champion: 2018 (including World Record) National Masters Pursuit Champion: 2019 National Masters Pursuit Champion: 2021 (including British Record) National Masters 500 Time Trial Champion: 2018 (including British Record) National Masters 500 Time Trial Champion: 2019

kilometre Time Trial (broken at Derby Velodrome in February 2018), the British Record for the 2k Pursuit and the British Record for the 500 Time Trial. Charlotte’s most notable tile was becoming National Derny Champion in 2019, which is her most treasured title due to the work she had to put in to achieve this. Charlotte said: “The nature of my role within commercial and corporate law means that there can be a lot of working outside of my core hours, so it really means a lot that the firm have an understanding with me regarding my cycling career. “I feel that I have a strong relationship with the Partners, and they know that I will do everything I can to get a job done. This means working long

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hours during larger corporate transactions, but at the same time, they appreciate that I also like to fit my racing and training in around work.” Charles Neal, partner at Bell & Buxton Solicitors, said: “When Charlotte came to Bell & Buxton it was evident that cycling was an important aspect of her life. She had found balancing her twin passions of cycling and the law difficult in the past, but we were happy to support her in both. “From the outset we agreed to flexible working to encourage her cycling career alongside her legal career. We encourage everyone involved in the firm to achieve a sustainable work-life balance. “Allowing flexibility has enabled Charlotte to pursue

National Masters 500 Time Trial Champion: 2021 Elite National Derny Champion: 2019

CHARLOTTE ALSO CURRENTLY HOLDS THE FOLLOWING RECORDS: British Record for the flying kilometre Time Trial (broken at Derby Velodrome in February 2018) British Record for the 2k Pursuit British Record for the 500 metre Time Trial her cycling career with great success. We are extremely proud of all Charlotte’s achievements both inside and outside of the office.” www.bellbuxton.co.uk

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HIGHLANDER

Highlander’s Chris Muscroft discusses how ERP can benefit your company.

HOW DO YOU TURN A MANUFACTURING COMPANY INTO A SERVICES ORGANISATION? Highlander want to break down the uncertainty around Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and symbolise the benefits it can provide for your company by showcasing the drastic improvements it has already provided to several of its clients. Highlander recently worked on a project to provide an ERP system for a manufacturer based in the South East. Their primary goal was to ensure slicker processes for building industrial units which are eventually supplied to NHS Trusts across the UK. The ERP system needed to provide Work In Progress (WIP) scheduling, demand planning and an integrated financial system in a single application.

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The efficiencies this implementation has delivered have been significant and the benefits of streamlining the manufacturing processes has provided a quantifiable return on investment. However, this was only the starting point for a platform that now delivers far more than expected and generates a new revenue stream for the organisation. By integrating connection devices to the manufactured units, they can now show service and usage statistics in real time for every device in operation. This provides insight into a variety of different things. Firstly, they can diagnose and analyse faults before the client is aware of them. The ERP system creates service tickets for all

system generated faults which greatly improves customer service on faulty units. The organisation can also now run trend analysis on the faults they receive which improves product recall on the serialised components that are documented for each completed unit. However, the most significant impact of the new software is the ability to provide real time service stats for the NHS trusts and provide online access to data being delivered from the units in the production environment. This generates a new revenue stream for the manufacturer as, in addition to manufacturing and installing each unit, the organisation now sells the unit service

schedule as a service to the NHS Trusts. Each Trust has individual and secure portals to access the relevant information for them and the ERP system automatically generates that business intelligence. ERP systems can deliver significant benefits to process automation, but by adding new functionality, connected systems can also be a source for new revenue streams, new services and improve customer retention. If your organisation is looking to add revenue streams that don’t currently exist, we’d be happy to talk through how intelligent software can help you achieve this. Please email softwaresolutions@ highlanderuk.com

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ENTREPRENEURSUPPORT BY HELEN WILLIAMS, HELPING ENTREPRENEURS WIN

STAY ON

THE BALL WITH YOUR BUSINESS

We often use sporting analogies when it comes to understanding business. It works, we have experience in the sporting arena and it resonates with many due to being around sport themselves either as a participant or spectator. Thinking of business as a sport therefore, it is match day and here are our key considerations as a personal and professional coaching team that we work on with you as a business.

For more info on how coaching with HEW can help you and your business please visit

HELPINGENTREPRENEURSWIN.COM

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AGENDA

OPPOSITION

GAME PLAN

RULES

FORMATION

Competition, market place, knowing your audience – competitive wise and acquisition wise.

Goal Setting and KPIs, Business Plans, Vision, Strategy, Focus and Clarity.

Values and belief systems you live by, your codes of conduct, company culture, best practice, discipline.

Team structure, roles and responsibilities, personal accountability.

DRESSING ROOM

FIELD OF PLAY

MANAGER/COACH

Your corner, your back of house operation, systems and process.

Managing your environment, understanding your variables and starting point. Levels of self-awareness as well as acceptance of external factors that are uncontrollable.

Coaching, learning and development, key support figure, experienced, birds eye view, honest with you on the overall objective and the part you’re playing within it, continual improvement and excellence demanded from you.

THE BENCH

PERFORMANCE

FANS AND SUPPORTERS

Time out, rest and recuperation, managing injury, knocks and setbacks. The all-important personal self-care, and health wellbeing of individual players and members of the team.

Productivity and effective working, effort, possession, sales and financial outcomes, accuracy, work rate. Your level of input directly affects your level of output.

External influence, opinions of others, greater support network. Sometimes behind you, sometimes quiet / absent and sometimes critical and fickle towards you and the circumstances.

TURNSTILES AND CONCOURSE

Product and service offering, sales performance, client engagement, customer experience.

MEDIA COVERAGE

POST MATCH ANALYSIS

Marketing platforms, personal and business branding, identity, documentation of your business, communication channels, core messages.

Perception, review process, reflection, constructive evaluation, learning from mistakes, celebrating your wins.

Or email

helen@helpingentrepreneurswin.com

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We are a Yorkshire based Specialist Business Consultancy & Training Provider Implementing Business Support Interventions to Facilitate Change Our Business Consultants will drive empowerment and help your team gain and retain the knowledge needed to grow. Our approach focuses on the following services:

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email: enquiries@brookconsult.co.uk telephone: 01226 240 435 visit: www.brookconsult.co.uk The Business Village, Innovation Way, Wilthorpe, Barnsley, S75 1JL

AGENDA

ABY DOMHELPING HAND BROOK OF BROOK CORPORATE DEVELOPMENTS Dom explains the bespoke methods his team use when providing training plans

TRAINING, BESPOKE TO YOU At Brook, following a template is not how we work. We don’t believe that is the best way to get results for our clients, which is why everything we do is tailored to each client’s specific needs. If the client has a desire to train their staff to run the intervention themselves rather than having a consultant come in, that’s where our training services are most valuable. Our courses are wideranging, with everything from strategic planning, leadership and HR to sales, ISO fundamentals and sustainability offered to clients depending on what they need. Our training programmes don’t include mandatory modules or certified qualifications. One reason for going through the process of

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identifying the client’s needs is so that we can put together a bespoke training package to meet their requirements. In my experience this method means that the training doesn’t take as much time to complete and has a much higher impact. The training is run by our team of specialist associate trainers who have a wealth of experience in these areas. However, we don’t use the same trainer for each area – we have several we can choose from, and we tailor which trainer we use to the client, depending on their experience in the sector the client operates in. We have a skills matrix which we use to identify the right person with the right experience to deliver the training for each client. A fundamental part of our

training service is including case studies from previous businesses we have worked with. Providing examples of how other organisations have facilitated similar changes really adds value for the client and is another reason for selecting trainers with industry experience to provide the training. Feedback from clients for this bespoke way of working has been positive, which is why we believe strongly that our method of business support gives the best results. Our quality management system shows that every client over the past five years have given us a rating of nine or above. We have just launched a new identity for our delivery arms in Consultancy, Training and Retained packages, which aims to view each arm as a

stand-alone service. Many business support providers see training and consultancy as services which overlap, but at Brook we believe they should have their own identity. We want both new and existing clients to understand that they don’t just come to us, get something and then the relationship ends. They go on a journey with us, and we want to make sure we provide as much support as we possibly can all the way through. To book a consultation with Brook Corporate Developments, visit enquiries@brookconsult. co.uk or call 01226 240435.

Effective planning can help avoid inconsistency and mixed messages in your business digital strategy and messaging. Collaborate with our in-house team to ensure your marketing is effective and achieves your business goals. Get in touch for your free consultation and discover how a tailored full-service solution can complement your business growth goals.

0114 250 9578 hello@hydracreative.com

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PLANNING & PRODUCTIVITY BY RYAN DANIELS OF HYDRA CREATIVE Our columnist on how digital can support your business this year

STREAMLINE FOR SUCCESS Business owners and senior executives often struggle for time when juggling many tasks and teams at once. However, by streamlining and automating aspects of your business, you can earn more time to focus on business-critical decisions. Digital transformation provides an opportunity for essential business functions, such as finance or HR, to move away from manual processes, as well as developing automated processes for invoicing and client management. In this article, we’ll explore the use of technology and how it can align with your business goals in 2022. How should digital technology be used within your teams?

unLTDBUSINESS.COM 16:49

Software systems can be developed to work alongside your accounts team, which can track clients and invoices, financials throughout the organisation, and KPIs over time. This reduces the room for human error, as well as decreasing admin time and helping increase productivity. By integrating bespoke technology into your business, you can precisely create a centralised system that fits your needs. Your senior team can then redefine how your business works in order to prioritise data, process automation, and analytics. How can technology help prioritise data? Data should be at the forefront of most business decisions, especially when

discussing cash flow. By integrating tailored reporting capabilities into a bespoke software system, you ensure that you are using the most powerful data analytics to inform decision-making. Spend, revenue, and growth can be shown on easy-to-read reports that can be customised to your needs. Decision-makers can quickly draw on the centralised and transparent data to compare real-time reports to business goals. How can we save time for critical decisions? When saddled with outdated workflows and lacking the proper tools, you may find your business struggling to move forward in a fast-paced market. Companies that neglect technological tools will struggle as they lose

their competitive edge, which leads to negative impact on your bottom line as valuable resources are wasted and precious time is lost. When effective digital solutions are implemented into your business, senior management spend less time processing and managing data and day-to-day processes. Instead, there is more time to support the organisational goals, utilising real-time actionable data and insights. Quality technology leads to quality insights—and better business decisions and results. Harness the power of digital for your business and speak to a member of our software development team today. hello@hydracreative.com www.hydracreative.com

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SKILLS

SKILLS FOCUS

SPONSORED BY THE SOURCE SKILLS ACADEMY The Source Skills Academy in Sheffield is passionate about bringing out the best in people. It has been helping businesses to increase the talents of their teams since 2003 and is proud to sponsor Skills Focus, a monthly spotlight on training and apprenticeship news and funding to help you develop your staff.

GROW YOUR OWN ‘PERFECT FIT’ STAFF, SOURCE URGES AHEAD OF APPRENTICESHIP WEEK As South Yorkshire businesses report problems recruiting new staff, The Source Skills Academy is urging them to ‘grow their own’ by turning to apprenticeships. The academy, a registered charity which has got thousands into work, is backing the Feb 7-13 National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) message to Build The Future. Its team is taking a virtual seat at NAW’s national online event on February 9th www. nationalapprenticeshipshow. org to help potential learners, advise bosses how to develop ‘perfect fit’ employees via apprenticeships and detail the funding available. The Sheffield-based training specialist firmly believes apprenticeships can play a crucial part in avoiding a major skills gap. In the latest Economic

DALE ROBINSON, DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AT THE SOURCE

Update from South Yorkshire’s Chambers of Commerce, covering 2021’s final quarter, local businesses reported high demand for products and services, but 86 per cent said the joint effect of the

pandemic and Brexit was increasingly impacting on their workforce. The report, South Yorkshire's largest private survey of business opinion, found bosses also viewed the

cost of staff training as an obstacle. “Fewer workers are coming from the EU and the pandemic has led to working practises which need different skills. There is a growing need to train and re-skill as many people as possible across the region,” said Dale Robinson, the Source’s Director of Business Development and a Sheffield Chamber council member. “Apprenticeships should be key in an organisation’s recruitment, skills and business strategies. They are a time-trusted and inexpensive way of bringing in and training people your way, with up to £3,000 in government grants for every recruit."

PUT WORKERS’ HEALTH AND SAFETY FIRST Ensure your staff are in safe hands in 2022 by boosting your organisation’s First Aid and workplace health and safety skills, says The Source. Dale Robinson, director of business development, said: “As we come up to the end of the tax year lots of businesses look to update their training and qualifications for First Aid

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and health and safety-related skills. “At The Source we have low-cost courses to cover their needs, ranging from emergency First Aid, fire safety, training for security guards and CCTV operators, and paediatric First Aid for professionals working with children.”

Training towards qualifications is delivered in a COVID-safe environment and includes relevant, updated information on dealing with COVID-19 – from transmission avoidance to spotting signs of infection and ongoing physical or mental health problems. Thanks to an investment in new software, The Source’s

online booking process for courses is now simpler and swifter. Customers can book and pay for their course immediately at: www.thesourceacademy. co.uk/training. For more details of courses, contact Vernon Tolson on 0114 2635722 / Vernon.tolson@ thesourceacademy.co.uk

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Q&A COLUMN

FEMALE ROLE MODELS PROMOTING EQUALITY IN STEM

Our Mission: To attract and retain women in STEM careers in South and West Yorkshire

HABIBA LAIS TECHNOLOGIST AT TRIBOSONICS LTD What does your role involve? I am involved in identifying the sensing technology needs of our customers and the practicality of implementation to extract useful data. As each project is bespoke, I research and present ultrasonic concepts which are taken forward to investigate and validate through bench-top testing, resulting in a working prototype for the end user. By being involved from concept to product, there is a lot of engagement throughout the various teams in the workplace to really strive for technological innovation. How did you get started working in STEM? I had an interest in creating from a young age, but I never selected any STEM subjects during my A-Levels. I attended a design exhibition where I met graduates from Made in Brunel. This was where I discovered engineering as an option moving forward and decided to enrol into a foundation in engineering degree at Brunel University London.

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What qualifications did you take or gain along the way? Following my foundation in engineering, I undertook aerospace engineering with an industrial placement year. Upon graduating from my Bachelors, I joined the National Structural Integrity Research Centre (NSIRC) and successfully completed an industrial-led PhD in power ultrasonics. Why do you love working in STEM? I love the need to work together to produce multidisciplinary solutions to today’s problems. Working with people from different backgrounds and learning more about what I don’t know has elevated my passion for creating to now striving to be an inventor and make the impossible possible. What challenges have you faced in your career, and how have you overcome them? During my university years, being from a non-STEM background meant I didn’t have the confidence in my

capabilities to learn something new. Over time, by having a supportive group determined to do well in our studies, we began to change our mindset and believe that we can do whatever we set our minds to. What advice would you offer for someone joining the STEM sectors? Firstly, make the most of networking events. Talking to people in the sectors that you are interested in will really open your mind to the endless routes and possibilities to go forward with. From this, you can start to decide on what sectors and what type of work you want to do as well as what kind of qualifications and experience will help you secure a job in this field of work. Secondly, life is not all about work, so make sure you demonstrate your passions outside of work and don’t be afraid to be yourself.

organising interactive events can inspire the younger generation to consider the potential paths in STEM. One key element is to be clear on what kind of qualification routes are needed to get into a particular sector. For qualified women currently in STEM that opt out of their career path, I believe that having a diverse workplace is key. Even if there is not a 50-50 split between male and female, having people from different job posts and backgrounds engaged with each other through projects, events and even by desk arrangement can be a supporting factor in retaining a job long term. For the full article please visit our blog at: equalityinstem.org.uk/blog

What do we need to do as an industry to attract and keep more women in STEM? Introducing females in STEM via talks and events and

COVER STORY

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COVER STORY

EAGLES MAKING A MARK ON RETURN HOME Head coach of Sheffield Eagles Mark Aston tells Chris Coates about the club’s turbulent history, his pride in securing a permanent home for Sheffield rugby and the push to get more local young people engaged in sport. Despite hailing from Castleford originally, it would not be an overstatement to describe Mark as ‘Mr Sheffield Eagles’, having spent almost his entire playing and coaching career with the club and holding the Eagles record for most games played and points scored. Mark’s affinity to Sheffield was strengthened when he stepped in to keep the Eagles in the city after the original club was merged with Huddersfield Giants in 1999, a move he claims was ‘destined for failure’. “The idea was that the home games would be evenly

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split between Huddersfield and Sheffield, but it was never going to work. It would be similar to putting Wednesday and United together. “It was like sticking a dagger in my heart. We had a fans’ forum and over 1,000 people turned up who were strongly against the idea and wanted their own club. I had to step in for those fans and ensure that the Eagles stayed in Sheffield.” Re-establishing the Eagles in Sheffield was a brave move, but it wasn’t long before the Huddersfield Giants dropped any mention of Sheffield in their name, effectively allowing the ‘new’ Eagles

We got up and running and we survived, which was a remarkable feat in itself.

to continue representing Sheffield rugby. Mark said: “We only got back into the Championship because Bramley folded, leaving a free spot for us to take. We also had to agree not to take any payments for TV coverage which were significant for a club of our size, so that was a real kick in the teeth. But we got up and running and we survived, which was a remarkable feat in itself.” As a director and head coach of the newly formed Eagles, Mark began establishing an academy for the club to bring through the

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COVER STORY best young rugby players in the Sheffield area. “We wanted to work with the community to develop our own players and allow local kids to make their dreams a reality. We set up a performance structure that we always wanted, established an academy and offered scholarships, and by 2012 we were running six different teams of varying age groups and abilities,” said Mark. Sadly, the academy was closed by the Rugby League amid concerns that the Eagles were not a viable club to have such an extensive range of teams and scholarship programmes. This began a downward spiral that led to the Eagles playing away from Sheffield for eight years. “I had to tell 150 kids that the dream was over, which is probably the worst thing I’ve ever had to do in my life,” Mark added.

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When Don Valley Stadium was demolished in 2013, the Eagles were left without a home stadium, triggering a nomadic existence which saw the team playing everywhere from Wakefield to Doncaster. Being forced to play outside of Sheffield was an immense challenge and a threat to the Eagles survival. “We are indebted to our main partners who stuck with us, especially the likes of GRI Group who never withdrew their support throughout all the adversity,” Mark said. “I’m so proud that we managed to stay alive because a lot of clubs would have gone under if they had to play outside their home town for so many years, but we made it through.”

NEW HOME

We wanted to work with the community to develop our own players and allow local kids to make their dreams a reality.

In April, the Eagles will play their first match at a brandnew purpose-built stadium at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park. The site is also home to the Sheffield Hallam University Health Innovation Park, including the university’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre and National Centre for Excellence in Food Engineering. The stadium is set to provide a range of sponsorship opportunities for local businesses, with everything from advertising boards to matchday sponsorship and hospitality. Mark said: “The stadium is massive for us because it means we will be able to attract bigger crowds to our games and lure back those who stopped watching the Eagles when we had to play outside of the city.

COVER STORY

Unity is strength – that’s something I talk about a lot and if everyone is pulling in the same direction, we can help this club take that next step.

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COVER STORY It will be fantastic for the fans to watch the Eagles in a stadium which has primarily been built for rugby. “The opportunities it is going to bring are huge – we will be able to generate additional revenue for the club through things like selling food and drink. We are grateful to Evogo, who have sponsored our kit for the 2022 season, and there are plenty more sponsorship opportunities Sheffield businesses will be able to take advantage of and get their name out there while supporting local rugby at the same time.”

REBUILDING With their new home secured, Mark’s focus is now turning to giving people from all walks of life the chance to play rugby league and start rebuilding a pathway to professional rugby in the spirit of the one he established a decade ago. Work is now underway with The Eagles Foundation – the charity linked to the club which aims to harness the power of sport to make a positive impact on individuals’ lives in the Sheffield City Region. The Eagles Foundation works to create opportunities for young people to get involved in sport – through the schools coaching programme, the work with Community Rugby League Clubs in the city, or through other noncompetitive opportunities such as Touch Rugby League and X-League. Mark added: “Alongside my own career achievements, the proudest thing I ever did was give a kid a dream through the academy and scholarships. There are at least 40 professional rugby league players who came through our academy. “We have now established a women’s Eagles team and our first ever wheelchair rugby team, so with the help of the Foundation we are starting to put things back

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THE EAGLES WERE THE 2019 WINNERS OF THE 1895 CUP AT WEMBLEY STADIUM

in place but it’s a building process and it’s going to take time. “We have always wanted to develop performance structures for girls as well as boys and that inclusivity is going to form the backbone of everything we do. I want to set up a Centre of Excellence for rugby and there’s scope to set that up. The aim is to eventually have all our teams competing at the highest level in Super League. “Unity is strength – that’s something I talk about a lot and if everyone is pulling in the same direction, we can help this club take that next step. “We need the support of everybody; our partners, the local business community, the fans – everyone needs to work together and play their part but being back in the city gives us the foundation to become a sustainable club with a dream to play at the highest level. That is the next step and I’m determined to make it happen. The future is looking bright again.”

MARK’S CAREER HIGHLIGHTS Alongside leaving his mark on Sheffield rugby, Mark has some impressive achievements to show for almost four decades in the game. Having made his debut for the Eagles in 1985, Mark went on to establish himself as one of the best scrum halves in rugby league. This led to him making his first appearance on the international stage for Great Britain in 1991 and his selection for the 1992 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand. In club rugby, Mark says his greatest achievement was winning Man of the Match after scoring two conversions and a drop goal in the 1998 Challenge Cup Final, where Sheffield Eagles overcame Wigan 17-8 at Wembley Stadium. “As a child, you firstly dream about playing professional rugby league, then representing your country internationally and finally playing a final at Wembley, so to have achieved all those feats fills me with a lot of pride,” Mark said. Mark’s success continued when he moved into coaching. The Eagles achieved back-to-back Championship Grand Final wins in 2012 and 2013 under his stewardship. Then in 2019, the club won the inaugural 1895 Cup by overcoming Widnes at Wembley. On the international stage, Mark managed Ireland through two World Cup campaigns between 2011 and 2017. “I love coaching because developing a player is so rewarding. Nobody is the finished article and as coaches it’s our job to make every player better. 23 years later I still thoroughly enjoy doing it.”

COVER STORY

EAGLES FOUNDATION HERITAGE PROJECT AWARDED LOTTERY

FUNDING Sheffield Eagles’ associate charity, The Eagles Foundation, has been awarded £93,650 by The National Lottery Heritage Fund for a project which will record and share the heritage of the club. The project, entitled Sheffield Eagles – the story of a Rugby League club battling against the odds, has six key aims:

Researching archives: 1 Looking through information held by the club at the Rugby Football League, within the local archives and by supporters. Digitisation of key documents and items from the club’s past: Documents, photographs, programmes, seasons tickets, videos, flags, banners and other memorabilia held by the club and supporters will be shared with the project. They will be digitised and catalogued before being built into an online database, making them searchable and more widely accessible.

Collecting stories: Volunteers will

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ARCHIVE PHOTOS WILL BE DIGITISED AS PART OF THE PROJECT

interview key people such as officials, players, supporters and coaches, recording and filming their stories. An audio history of the club will be produced, available through a series of podcasts, with a short film produced capturing the history of the club. Training and support to volunteers: The project will equip volunteers with the skills to carry out interviews, research the history of the club, take part in the project and produce publications, exhibitions and talks.

Sharing the stories: This will include the creation of an online website resource, pop-up exhibitions, learning packs, publications,

events and public talks to share the stories and involve people. Working with the local community: The project will reach out to the community within the immediate area around the new stadium at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park and the wider city to involve them in the activities. One of the first steps in the project is to recruit a project officer who will bring the project to life over the course of the two years. David Butler, chairperson of the Eagles Foundation, said: “We are very grateful to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for supporting our application and for providing the funding for this very exciting project.

“Compared to their rivals, Sheffield Eagles is a very young Rugby League club and that gives an almost unique opportunity to preserve its heritage for years to come using modern technology that simply wasn’t available when longer established clubs started playing the game back in 1895. “Thank you to everyone who plays the National Lottery which generates funding for projects such as ours. We cannot wait to get started!” David Renwick, director of the England North region at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “We are thrilled to support the Eagles Foundation in celebrating the heritage of Sheffield Eagles Rugby League Football Club. Thanks to National Lottery players, this project will strengthen the community by helping local people better uncover the heritage of the club and its place in the history books of one of the UK’s best loved sports. “The North is home to a wide range of sporting heritage, and we know it is a great way of bringing people together and creating a sense of pride that in turn can deliver much wider benefits.”

IF YOU ASK ME

IF YOU ASK ME:

SPORT IN THE COMMUNITY Areas that participate in sport and other leisure activities generally have stronger communities, safer spaces and are largely healthier and happier compared to places without physical activity as a priority. Sheffield is proud to have some of the best sporting venues in the country, with the English Institute of Sport Sheffield, Ponds Forge, and high profile football clubs. In our If You Ask Me sport in the community special, a number of different organisations share the brilliant work that they do, who they work with and what benefits they provide. 42

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IF YOU ASK ME

SARAH BACKOVIC, GENERAL MANAGER, SHEFFIELD SHARKS The B Braun Sheffield Sharks are now a familiar name in the city’s sporting scene but it has taken a huge amount of work to get us there. When the club was formed in the early 1990s – which seems such a long time ago now! – we needed to impact our community – we recognised that we appealed in a way beyond sport. Basketball is a very popular sport but it is often played under the media’s radar in communities that are often hard to reach. Our priority was to engage with people across our area but in particular those who may have been ignored by what are considered more mainstream sports. Because we are accessible compared to other sports we could use our athletes to positively engage with all

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spectrums right through to the disengaged Underpinning the Sharks community programme is a dedicated classroom run by teacher Sarah Carpenter who is vastly experienced and has positively impacted hundreds of children over many years. We have been lucky to work with partners on our

community schemes who see them more than just a tickingthe-box exercise. Our named sponsor, B Braun Medical, who are based near our head office in Chapeltown, Sheffield, had a policy for children and came on board to drive a health and well-being agenda using sport as the vehicle. We began our outreach programme B Healthy B Braun working with 600 primary students a year. The growth was exponential because having access to the likes of Kipper Nicholls, Rodney Glasgow Jr and our head coach Atiba Lyons young people could understand how to use sport to achieve more in life. Latterly we found as society issues widened and disengaged young people began to be affected by gang culture we introduced a more direct project called Respect Too – supported by Canon Medical Systems.

This enabled the Sharks to work with young people on the periphery of being excluded from school. With a desire to affect behaviour and use the players to encourage sport as a diversionary tactic this has been the most popular with secondary schools with places booked up a year in advance. Community Manager Marko Backovic has re energised the Sharks in the community. The former player and England international is now an assistant coach with the club and has streamlined the focus to support no less than 1,600 young people a year that benefit from all projects. We’re proud of the impact we have made and will continue to make in our home city. And, as we look to move into a new venue on the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, our commitment to community projects will be at the heart of everything we do.

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IF YOU ASK ME

ROB WOMACK (SHEFFIELD CITY TRUST), KATIE BORLAND (SHEFFIELD YOUNG CARERS), CLLR GEORGE LINDARS HAMMOND (SHEFFIELD CITY COUNCIL), PAULINE KIMANTAS (SHEFFIELD CARERS CENTRE), URIAH RENNIE (SHEFFIELD CITY TRUST).

ANDREW SNELLING, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, SHEFFIELD CITY TRUST Sheffield City Trust, formerly known as Sheffield International Venues, is well known within this vibrant city of sport as the organisation that runs some of the city’s most prominent venues such as Sheffield City Hall, Ponds Forge, the English Institute of Sport Sheffield and the Utilita Arena Sheffield. The trust however is much more significant than that and as a health and wellbeing charity we're here for the people of Sheffield to support employability, help the environment and local communities. Health and Wellbeing is not just about hitting the gym, that's why we're so much more than just our venues, we work with the local community through our outreach programmes

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and our aims are focussed on getting people more active, looking at new ways to engage with key groups in the community and supporting the physical and mental health and wellbeing of the people of Sheffield. We’re working with lots of community organisations across the city to increase participation in activities inside, and outside of our venues in places such as local community centres, schools and care homes. Part of our remit is to work with groups who find it more difficult to access and engage with trust activities and physical activity in general like carers. It is estimated that there are around 90,000 carers in Sheffield, and we are working with Sheffield Carers and Young Carers enabling them to experience activities like ice skating and discounted access to our venues to provide them with valuable

‘me-time’ away from their caring responsibilities. Our long-standing programmes supporting individuals living with long-term health conditions (Exercise Referral) and with Care Home residents, initially moved to a fully remote delivery model at the beginning of the pandemic have now returned to our venues and are seeing continued growth. Our work with local NHS partners on Long-Covid recovery programmes and activities aimed at specifically supporting mental health conditions is gathering pace as demand continues to increase into 2022. We’re also continuing to support organisations adjust to new requirements created by the pandemic. The world of work has altered significantly. Working in Burngreave, we provided guidance and support to Reach Up Youth providing valuable

employability skills training, resulting in many job offers for young people starting out in tricky times. We also recognise the importance to mental wellbeing of attending events including music gigs and sporting events. We have a huge programme of concerts planned across the Utilita Arena Sheffield and Sheffield City Hall as well as sports events from local club galas to international competitions across our sports venues. Alongside this we will continue to cheer the successes of all our resident teams including the Sheffield Steelers and Sheffield Sharks. Sheffield City Trust is here for everyone, supporting individuals to access activities that improve their health and wellbeing whether that’s working with partner organisations, in one of our venues or in a community setting.

IF YOU ASK ME

CHRIS BAILEY, HEAD OF FOUNDATION, SUFC COMMUNITY FOUNDATION What do Sheffield United Community Foundation do? We are the official charity of Sheffield United Football Club, and we are a sports development organisation. Our primary purpose is to use the brand of Sheffield United Football Club and the power of sport to change people’s lives. Our vision is for Sheffield to be a healthy, empowered, and inclusive community. To help us get there, we generally focus on five key themes: Education, Employability, Health, Inclusion and Participation. Naturally, being the club’s official charity, it comes with the iconic brand of Sheffield United Football Club - that’s our USP. It gives us the opportunity to engage with supporters, because football is a global language that reaches

out to millions of people across the world, and it’s been a cornerstone, an institution in the city for over 130 years – it’s a place that people recognise and feel safe to engage with. Generally, we are the football club out in the community. Last year we worked in all 29 ward areas of Sheffield, utilising the power of the brand to work in every community that we can and create links with local organisations to give people the opportunities for a better life. We work with several local charities and organisations

such as: Weston Park Cancer Charity, Cavendish Cancer Care and Strong Minds Together, as well as Primary Schools and The Sheffield College. We also work with local community and youth groups for our Premier League Kicks programme which is about using sport and the brand of the Premier League to engage with people in the evenings, in hard-to-reach communities, to give them opportunities. We’re currently going through our strategic plan for the next three years and it’s clear that the pandemic

has changed the way that we work and the world that we currently work in. The challenges and the inequalities that we are now trying to address are different to what they were pre-pandemic. For example, younger people are looking for support around their mental health, so we’ve really had to shift our focus, still working on physical health and participation, but repurposing our resources to tackle that too. Sport is the hook and it’s a tool that we use but our work is more than that. We want to improve people’s physical, mental, and social wellbeing so we can address some of the health inequalities in our communities and we want people to have a lifelong positive relationship with sport and/or physical activities. To learn more about SUFC, visit: sufc-community.com

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IF YOU ASK ME

GARETH DAVIS, HEAD OF REGION (SOUTH YORKSHIRE), YORKSHIRE CRICKET BOARD February may not be a month many people associate with cricket activity but in clubs across South Yorkshire it is a busy time planning junior programmes and preparing for the season, which begins in April. My role as head of region in South Yorkshire for the Yorkshire Cricket Board is to offer the support clubs need to help them grow and thrive. Attracting juniors is key to this so we have a number of different initiatives which provide opportunities for young players to take their first steps into the sport or to begin to develop their skills ahead of an introduction to hard ball cricket. Two of the most popular schemes are All Stars cricket for 5-8 year olds and Dynamos, which is aimed at 8-11 year

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olds and is based around the Hundred tournament. Last summer we had 1,619 little All Stars running across the outfields around our clubs and almost 600 Dynamos. For Dynamos 2021 was its first summer, so this was a very good return and we hope to see even more this year.

We have coaches with responsibility for different areas of South Yorkshire and they work hard to visit as many schools as possible via the Chance to Shine programme. More than 1,600 hours of cricket was coached across 50 schools and, most pleasingly, there were more than 1,400 girls who took part. The development of women and girls cricket is vital to the continued growth of our game and it is receiving strong backing from the England Cricket Board. Early this month the England Women’s team will conclude their Ashes tour against Australia. The women’s game is increasingly fully professional at the top level and girls can now see a pathway to making a career out of the game. We’ve seen a big growth in girls taking part with 516 on the All Stars programme and 212 on Dynamos, which is around a third of total participants.

At the older level we are increasing the number of women’s leagues across South Yorkshire – these are both at soft ball and hard ball – so there are entry points for players of all skill levels. Cricket is a sport played by all but it is a particular passion for our South Asian communities. Providing access to playing cricket is crucial as not everyone is able to attend training or matches at traditional times because of work or family commitments. We have had great success with our street cricket programmes in Sharrow and Darnall. Also working with Caribbean Cricket Club we have provided coaching to 450 children, many of who are from BAME communities. This year will be another big year for the sport of cricket. And while it may still be very much winter our thoughts are well and truly on the summer.

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IF YOU ASK ME

KAMRAN DIN, DIRECTOR, DARNALL EDUCATION & SPORTS ACADEMY We are Darnall Education & Sports Academy (DESA). Our aim is to improve the life chances of the people of Sheffield through sports, education and developing cultural capital. We offer sports sessions, tutoring and activities ranging from Manchester City football games to the Sheffield Lyceum to watch pantomimes. All of these are opportunities to develop cultural capital in our community to enhance young people’s life chances and expose them to experiences that many have not had the opportunity to take part in. Our sports sessions have developed rapidly over the past eight months at the English Institute of Sport Sheffield. We offer football, multisport, cricket and femaleonly sessions. Children have the opportunity to take part in a range of different sporting activities to build confidence

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and good sportsmanship. Above all, we aim to instil respect into the hearts of the people we work with. This will then have a direct impact on how they respect themselves, their peers, parents, and the wider community. The female-only sports sessions include Zumba and Yoga, but we will be expanding to offer badminton and boxing. These sessions were aimed toward BAME females who don’t have the opportunity to take part in sport due to a range of circumstances. Giving them a space, which is private

with qualified instructors is something that is greatly needed. We have an obesity dilemma that has been expatiated by COVID. Mental health is a major problem and exercise is one of the keys to help resolve it. Our work aims to tackle this in the community. In the future, we look forward to building a stronger and long-term relationship with Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park to offer sessions for key target groups. Our key focus is on groups that have been sidelined and have few provisions in place to allow them to take part in sport. An example is the Slovak/ Roma community. This community has suffered from integration into the locality for several reasons, communication being one and a lack of funding. DESA see sport as an opportunity to unite communities. Our next project is to offer a session for autistic children and adults to allow them the opportunity to take part in

exercise, keep fit and develop confidence. We feel that this is a key group that is not able to access sporting venues due to a lack of organisations being able to cater for them. DESA has a passion to allow all members of society to thrive. We have a passionate team who understand first-hand the issues which autistic people face and we are dedicated to breaking down the stigma in accessing sports. We feel with the right partnership agreement between key organisations we could deliver provisions to 500 young people a week, promoting mental health, community cohesion and opportunities and pathways into competitive football through the above mentioned clubs. At our sessions, we have brought in the local MP, councillors, fire service, police officers and local professional athletes to promote positive role models and we look forward to helping many more young people in 2022.

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HYDRA CREATIVE SUPPORT SHEFFIELD HATTERS, SHEFFIELD STEELERS AND SHEFFIELD FC KEITH TARRY, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, HYDRA CREATIVE Founded in Sheffield in 2009, we are an award winning full-service digital agency, well respected in the region and further afield for our specialist bespoke work. Since the beginning of the pandemic, recurring lockdowns and frequently changing restrictions on social events have had a huge negative impact on the world of sport. As local sport does so much for the local community, getting involved with some of Sheffield’s teams to offer our support was a no-brainer for us. Our involvement with the Sheffield Hatters Women’s Basketball team started when our managing director, Ryan Daniels, heard that the sport charity was fundraising to ensure they could compete in the Women’s British Basketball League (WBBL) for the upcoming season. Reduced exposure due to the pandemic had taken a significant toll on the charity’s ability to fundraise towards the hefty cost of entering the league. For the most successful women’s basketball team of all time this

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would have been a travesty. Ryan already knew club chair, Betty Codona OBE, from his years playing basketball as a child and teenager, and so approached the club to see how we could help them gain the exposure they needed. We subsequently designed their 60th anniversary logo, which now features on their kit, as well as designing and building their new website, which is launching soon. The aim of the new website is to help the Hatters to continue to gain more exposure and help them in their aim to acquire new sponsorship opportunities

to continue to support the club financially. As well as the Hatters, we are now a kit sponsor for another favourite team – the Sheffield Steelers. Our logo is on their shorts, so keep a look out at the next game! We came to work with Sheffield FC in a different way. We were running an SEO campaign which was based on the football transfer window that happens every January, so we thought it made sense to get a football team involved. We approached Sheffield FC to work with us on it, and now we’re one of their main sponsors! They also launched a website last February

but were struggling to gain the online visibility that they deserved. For example, they’re the World’s Oldest Football Club but if you searched for ‘world’s oldest football club’ they only reached the second page of the results on Google, so we knew that we could assist with their search engine rankings and other SEO needs. We’ve been working with the club for over a year now – we’ve improved their SEO with 17 key words now ranking in the top search results, increased website visitors by 56 per cent, and increased page views by 42.26 per cent, all of which has helped towards securing 4,000 new memberships. This has all contributed towards Sheffield FC getting their name back to where it should be. Working with local sports clubs has been an incredible challenge for our collaborative team – and a real adventure! To learn more about Hydra Creative and the amazing work we do, visit: www.hydracreative.com

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IMAGE & STYLE PLUS Susanne Skelton tells unLTD how support from Launchpad helped her turn her innovative ideas into a clear plan for her business. Tell us about your company? Image & Style Plus was created to help plus size women embrace their bodies and feel confident in who they are without having to diet or restrict themselves. With the fashion industry still not catering to the plus size woman over a size 16, I help women to dress the body they have, shop with confidence and feel fabulous every day. I offer online personal coaching services and have just launched my first digital magazine that covers fashion, beauty, wellness and lifestyle catered for the plus size woman. When did you first decide to start up on your own and what inspired you? I first started in business back in 2015. I was a stay-at-home mum and wanted to work so I opened my own dress agency and trained as an image consultant. I closed the dress agency at the end of 2018 and continued to work from home, but it wasn’t until lockdown that I made the decision to bring my services completely online. I started to notice so many women struggling with weight gain and lack of confidence and I wanted to build my business on helping these women. Many women focus on weight loss, but that is an end goal so I show women how they can feel confident in themselves and their body today.

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buy on the high street. I want to design a stylish capsule clothing line for plus size women and to launch a styling academy so I can train others who may wish to forge a career as a stylist and work alongside me so we can help even more women feel confident and look fabulous. Launchpad advisor Christina Lima Trindade said: “We have been able to figure out what matters to Susanne and what she wants to contribute to others through her business model by creating income streams that support her and the desire to help others. We have worked together on planning, pricing, marketing and all areas of the business.

SUSANNE SKELTON

How has Launchpad helped you? Launchpad helped me gain focus and structure my business. Before I had so many ideas that I was all over the place, I had no structure and no plan. Launchpad helped me understand my audience,

how I wanted to help them, how to market myself and be clear on my goals and how to execute them. What are your hopes and aims for the business? I’d like to launch a published magazine that women can

“Starting and growing a business is not easy and that’s why the Launchpad programme was created. Part funded by the European Regional Development Fund and our partners means there is no cost to the entrepreneur, so we can get straight to work on turning those dreams into reality. “Stop dreaming and do it. Contact us for information now on 03330 00 00 39 or email growthhub@ sheffieldcityregion.org.uk.”

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THE DEADLINE IS APPROACHING TO EARN £3,000 FOR TAKING ON A NEW APPRENTICE – DON’T MISS OUT! The incredible £3,000 government grant for organisations that take on a new employee and train them through an apprenticeship is coming to an end. You can claim the grant for any employee who joined you between 1 October and 31 January provided you train them through an apprenticeship programme. It is in addition to the existing £1,000 grant for taking on a 16-18 year old so you could be missing out on £4,000 of additional cashflow to support your new employee in whatever way you choose (wages, laptop,

travel expenses, covering supervisory staffing costs etc.). the incentive is paid in two instalments over 12 months. Your staff member must have joined up to 31 January, you then have until March

to register them onto an Apprenticeship. Our team are available to advise further. Please get in touch if you would like to explore any potential staff members who have joined

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PODCAST

LISTEN UP FOR OUR 2022 PODCAST PLANS The unLTD Podcast will be returning soon – we're currently having a well-earned lie-down after the bumper episode from the Sheffield Business Awards at the end of last year. If you haven't listened already, pull it up on your podcast app and check it out. It was quite a night and you can relive the whole thing – we spoke to EVERY winner in our special podcast studio at Peddler Warehouse. Now attention turns to this year and we're looking for amazing stories to tell from the business world of South Yorkshire. If you know someone, or something, we should be featuring, please get in touch. One-off podcasts A barrier to starting a podcast is the commitment. And that is twofold – there's the initial set-up work to get it off-theground, and then the pressure to create regular new episodes. That can be unattractive, especially to a business. You might have something you want to say to the world, without that commitment. You might just want to 'have a go' first before going all-in. This has bothered me for a while. I still wholeheartedly believe that podcasting can – in some way – help every business to grow. But I get that it can appear a daunting prospect. I hit upon the solution late last year and introduced a new

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service at Sound Media: oneoff podcasts. No commitment, no set-up. It can be done remotely, or in-person, with you and some guests, or with a presenter interviewing you... anything, really. I've already done all the initial work so the episode can be published, pushed to the different podcast apps, and shared on your socials. If you have a story to tell or want to try podcasting without any commitment, get in touch: james@ wearesoundmedia.com Listen up! I'm on with a big project in 2022 to create a 'Podcast Listening Group'. This will be a database of people who I can call on to listen to and give feedback to podcast episodes. The whole thinking behind this is to give existing podcasters real organic feedback from real people, who match the demographic of their target listener. It's an early stage, but one of the most important things is to have a really wide range of people – ages, backgrounds, careers, family life, etc. So I'm on the lookout for anyone who fancies doing a bit of podcast listening for a bit of extra cash in their spare time.

Drop me an email if you fancy getting involved. It's going to be a cracking project. Podcasting for Business This is a business magazine so, if you're reading this, there's a good chance you are 'in business'. I've already said that I think podcasting can be beneficial to any business, but this month I've been setting about proving it by creating a series of blog posts about why podcasting is great for business, including: • Why podcasting is perfect to grow your personal brand • How an interview show can help your business to grow • How to create an effective call-toaction in your podcast • Finding new customers with a 'case study' podcast

LEARN ABOUT THOSE – AND PLENTY MORE TOO – BY HEADING TO WEARESOUNDMEDIA.COM

Get in Touch:

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A LEAGUE

OF THEIR OWN Mark Slatter and the Sheffield Eagles go way back. As the Eagles return to Don Valley (Olympic Legacy Park), Mark looks back at his 30 year connection with Rugby League, the relationships that helped shape him and how as director of Albion Detection Systems he still values his links to the team and the people around it. The Albion Detection Systems logo will sit on the sleeve of Sheffield Eagles' home and away shirts as they play their first game back at Olympic Legacy Park this year. We have been a sponsor of Rugby League within the city since 1992 associated to grassroots teams and since 2012 more prominently with Sheffield Eagles and I’m proud to be associated with a sporting club that has battled hard both on and off the pitch to strive toward success. The Eagles have been a part of my life since 1991, when at the age of nine I was taken to Don Valley Stadium by my father with the sole intention of him looking at the build of the stadium itself and not specifically for the Rugby League. The Junior Eagles were playing on the pitch that day and I wanted to give it a go. Thanks to Ian Anniss, who was coaching the junior team at the time, I didn’t have to wait too long and within weeks I was on the pitch myself. Rugby League is a tactile game. It attracts kids from different backgrounds and a lot of those kids have experienced the kind of hard knocks that don’t just come

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MARK SLATTER

from a rough tackle. My own childhood was a happy one, but it was made much richer by the opportunities that Ian and the Junior Eagles gave me. I made friends on the pitch that I still hold close today. Friends from across the region

who I played with and played against. These are the sorts of memories that young people deserve to have and sponsoring Sheffield Eagles today is our own way of helping ensure that they can.

I know how much I value the experiences that rugby league has given to me, playing and coaching teams myself at Sheffield Hawks and playing professionally for Scotland against France in 2007, and teams simply can’t exist on passion alone. Sponsorship isn’t just about logos either. Attending the games and other events that the club organise means that there are always new relationships to forge. As a supporter and sponsor of the Eagles, I'm still meeting new people with a shared passion, from backgrounds very different to my own. The lessons learned many years ago – treating people at face value, the benefit of teamwork and collaboration – are still the same. We all need to learn them somewhere in order to be successful and I'm proud that I learned them with the Eagles. It’s been a long road back to Sheffield and the Olympic Legacy Park but I know how hard the team have worked to get there. There are kids who will play on that pitch who will achieve great things and the lessons they learn through Rugby League will be the ones that put them there.

ARMED FORCES BUSINESS CHALLENGE 17th

Free Business CPD Opportunity March 2022 09:30 - 15:30 | Sheffield S12 2AN

The British Army places a lot of faith in its leaders; ‘Serve to Lead’ is the motto of one of the world’s foremost leadership academies – Sandhurst. This November, we will give you the opportunity for an insight into Army leadership at a bespoke free CPD/leadership event. Who: Teams of 4 - 6 employees; no minimum fitness standards. Where: Manor Top Army Reserve Centre, Sheffield S12 2AN. What: CPD opportunity where teams will be presented with a number of challenge scenarios which they will need to communicate, lead and decide how best to overcome. How: To register, click the link or scan the QR code above. For further information contact: Major Kate Hannaford Kate.Hannaford725@mod.gov.uk

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TALENT UNITED 2021

YEAR IN REVIEW Talent United is Barnsley College’s employer engagement programme, which aims to bridge the gap between education and employment by providing its students with employer-led and employer-based opportunities.

Despite the pandemic, Talent United was busier than ever in 2021 organising guest speaker sessions, workplace tours and placements. The College’s team were in regular contact with local business partners by offering networking opportunities and masterclasses, providing students and employees with new and exciting skills. Talent United successfully recruited 53 partners in 2021, taking the total number to 220. Many of the partners participated in an Industry Week; a series of events that enabled students to find out about different types of job roles, how to achieve their career goals and get ahead in the world of work through speaking with established professionals. Last year, the College delivered several Industry Weeks which covered topics including Animal and Land Management, Creative, Construction, Digital, Engineering, Global Entrepreneurship and Travel and Tourism. In the past 12 months over 50 speakers have signed up to deliver talks to students during College’s Industry Weeks. The team were proud to have speakers who were able to deliver talks both in-person and virtually online. Talent United’s guest speakers have provided presentations

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PETER HOLMES, EDITOR OF BARNSLEY TODAY AND AROUND BIRDWELL MAGAZINES

and workshops, work placements and workplace tours. In return, they have enjoyed exclusive benefits and discounts including events and networking sessions, free and discounted training courses and promotional opportunities. One of Talent United’s finest achievements last year was a visit from Peter Holmes, Editor of Barnsley Today and Around Birdwell, two magazines covering the local area with a combined circulation of 19,500

per month. After his talk, several students contacted him with ideas that would benefit his magazine, as well as those who wanted to have the opportunity to write pieces for Barnsley Today. Since then, two students have had paid work published in Barnsley Today and Around Birdwell and a further two students were given the chance to write for Peter’s publications. For 2022, Talent United has a lot to look forward to such as Pride Week, Crime and Justice Week, and Culture Week.

During Pride Week, Stephanie Hirst, broadcaster, DJ, public speaker and well-known advocate for the transgender community, will be a guest speaker. During Crime and Justice Week, Paul Hannaford will be welcomed as a guest speaker. Paul has built a successful career educating over 400,000 school children about the dangers of addiction, drugs, and alcohol. Culture Week will present virtual museum tours around the world and provide informative talks from Adam Smith, part of the Real Junk Food Project and Musharaf Asghar, a keynote speaker and journalist first recognised from Channel 4’s Educating Yorkshire. If you are interested in becoming a Talent United partner, or would like to find out more about the programme, visit www. barnsley.ac.uk/talent-united or email enterprise@barnsley. ac.uk. If you would like to boost your workforce’s potential, you can find out more about College’s adult and part-time courses by visiting www. barnsley.ac.uk/adult-and-parttime. Alternatively, visit www. barnsley.ac.uk/employers to find out about industry placements, apprenticeships and training programmes, specifically for those in employment.

FOCUS ON

HOW ARE BUSINESSES BEING AFFECTED BY RISING ENERGY COSTS? Over the last few months, the global energy markets have grown increasingly unpredictable due to post-pandemic recovery, extreme weather, Brexit, and other continued geopolitical issues and this is plunging the UK into an unprecedented energy crisis. A number of industry experts share their experiences of how businesses are being affected with unLTD’s Rachel Measures.

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FOCUS ON PROFESSIONAL ENERGY PURCHASING

CORROSION RESISTANT MATERIALS IN MEXBOROUGH

CORROSION RESISTANT MATERIALS We spoke to Adam Bradley, director of Corrosion Resistant Materials Ltd, a steel stockholder that offers cutting, machining, heat treatment and testing on top of the raw material. They are in their seventh year of trading and see enough exports that their business is 50 per cent worldwide.

What is your insight on the energy crisis?

The crisis is happening across Europe, not just in the UK, and quite a lot of our suppliers are based in Europe so when we’re buying material, they’re adding an extra surcharge to make up for the gas prices rising.

What impact is this having?

Our steel, that we order from European mills, now has an extra surcharge, so this could be an extra 5 or 10 per cent of the cost. We must take this into consideration when we’re buying and acknowledge that this has a knock-on effect to the end sale price. It might only be a small percentage increase, but the increase comes on material, on transport, on importing and every other element because energy prices affect everyone. By the time you’re done it's quite a substantial price increase, and every business along the way pass the cost down until it hits consumers. While customers might have won projects 6-12 months ago at one price prior to the energy

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crisis, they now must incur the extra cost because no one in the chain wants to take a loss.

Professional Energy Purchasing (PEP) is an independent energy management specialist with over 30 years’ experience in the energy market. Its award-winning procurement team work with all major utility companies in the UK to provide competitive gas, electricity, and water prices for clients.

What are your fears going forward?

I can’t see energy prices coming down, certainly not in the next 12 months, and that’s in Europe as well as the UK. In terms of businesses, we supply to machine shops, as well as engineering, oil and gas, and aerospace companies who all buy steel and all produce products, so I fear it’s going to have a massive knock-on effect to everything.

What has your response been?

As a business we can effectively pass the cost on – we’re quite lucky in that respect. We can stand the test of time better than some others but as it continues to go on, we’ve just got to be more careful that we allow for additional cost for these energy increases.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell people?

The media is consistently informing people of the domestic effects of the energy crisis, but what’s not being spoken about is the affect the crisis will have on businesses and in particular UK manufacturing. Everything is going up in cost and this could affect how the UK competes in other markets – we’ve already left the EU; we’ve already got that added competition and it already costs more to export.

sustainable in the long term and will cause businesses to close. Last year, one of our client’s energy costs were £400,000 but this is now estimated at £1m.

We are seeing an extremely volatile market which is unfeasible for businesses or the economy. Businesses across the country have only just survived the financial hardship of the pandemic and are now faced with even more risk due to soaring energy prices.

Q THE PEP TEAM

It also provides independent energy audits to identify potential savings, helping clients to reduce energy, carbon, and plan for Net Zero climate targets. Kayleigh Thompson, sales manager and energy consultant at PEP, speaks to us about the rising energy costs.

What is your insight on the energy crisis?

As we negotiate energy contracts for our clients, we have been on the front line of the energy crisis since it began in April 2021. We have seen power prices surge from 15p/kWh in March 2021 to a staggering 45p/kWh in December 2021. This is the worst the energy industry has ever seen, and it has been a similar story for gas.

What impact is this having?

From April 2021 prices have escalated and have continued to rise significantly hitting an all-time high in December 2021. Customers are seeing 50 per cent increases in their energy costs, and this is not

What are your fears going forward?

What has your response been?

We continuously inform our clients on the energy market to discuss contract options. We also recommend making sure businesses do have energy contracts in place as being on a variable rate is often even more extortionate. Our procurement team offer a variety of options tailored to the business’s needs. Our team are constantly educating our client base through publishing relevant articles, monthly energy market updates and pushing out useful information through our social media platforms and website.

What do you want people to know?

As energy prices continue to rise, we advise that businesses become familiar with how they are using their energy and find ways to reduce consumption and costs through more energy efficient practices. Our in-house energy manager is helping businesses to reduce energy, carbon, and move towards a Net Zero future. Get in touch for a chat about your business energy to see how the team can help you by calling 0114 327 2645 or emailing info@pepgb.com.

inspiring, supporting and developing equality in STEM Our Mission: To attract and retain women in STEM careers in South and West Yorkshire.

What we offer: For individuals: • career development advice and support • networking with other professionals working in STEM • opportunity to take part in round table discussions • access to mentoring network • opportunity to become a STEM career role model For companies: • best practice advice for organisational culture change • networking and presentations • access to round table discussions • career development advice/support for your staff • access to mentoring network for your employees • promote your company and employees as STEM role models To find out more about Equality in STEM, including individual and corporate membership, visit us at:

equalityinstem.org.uk

FOCUS ON

INSTANT PRINT

Founded in 2001, Instant Print is a SME employing 29 people. It decorates business gifts with corporate logos, along with printing measurement marks on industrial components. Its managing director Glenn Chapman spoke to us about the energy crisis.

As mentioned, we are installing Solar PV on the factory roof. Over the course of a year, we will be creating more electricity than we use. In the summer months we will have excess electricity to sell back to the grid and put charge in our cars. All we can do is minimise our reliance on buying electricity at inflated rates, but it also feels good knowing that our investment will mean that we are minimising our reliance on fossil fuels and instead using the sun’s colossal energy to give us power.

What is your insight on the energy crisis?

The rising cost of gas has had a knock-on effect to electricity because half of the UK’s electricity is produced by burning gas. Along with the upturn in energy demand following a global pandemic, we are seeing a perfect storm in the energy market.

What impact is this having?

If we stayed with our current supplier our electricity bill would be going from £12,800pa to £48,000pa. However, we have managed to find a new supplier at 30p per KWH which means our new bill would be £24,000pa.

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What has your response been?

GLENN CHAPMAN

We’re also investing in solar power to reduce this bill to £9,000pa and we will be receiving approximately £3,500 from selling excess power back to the grid. We’re generally lucky not to be a high user of energy, but there will be costs to absorb over time. However, we’re investing in solar power, and part of this will ensure our staff and customers are unaffected by rising business costs.

What are your fears going forward?

I fear for businesses that are heavy energy users. The increases are eyewatering at the minute. I have just had my own electricity renewal through, and my supplier is proposing that my KWH rate will increase from 16p to 60p. That’s an increase of 375 per cent.

What do you want to tell people?

I would recommend businesses to explore self-generation through Solar PV. Rising electricity costs make the systems so much more financially viable. With KWH rates at 30p some systems can pay for themselves in as little as three years, so they’re worth investing in.

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ANGELA TAYLOR

CASTINGS TECHNOLOGY We spoke to Angela Taylor, director of AT Management Solutions Ltd, who is a business consultant working with Castings Technology specialising in engineering and STEM based careers, with a background of 30+ years in selling castings and forgings.

What is your insight on the energy crisis?

There isn’t a foundry or a forge that hasn’t been impacted by the increase in costs. Where necessary they have implemented supplementary charges to cover the cost of power and

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concentrate on insulation and energy conservation generally.

What impact is this having?

Whilst some businesses have improved their position post-Brexit, building business back up, they will need to raise prices to customers which will be passed along the supply chain. This may reduce the competitive position of British manufacturing compared to the Far East where they are less heavily impacted by energy costs. However, industry is buoyant in the UK as we have seen reshoring of purchases

over the last couple of years. Rolls Royce, for example, have had their best year in manufacturing in 170 years, and our specialist foundries and forges have remained resilient. There is growth and some are predicting an increase in turnover. We’re becoming more niche in what we manufacture, and this enables British and European engineering to promote itself. I’m not saying there won’t be difficulties, however, over 30 years, I’ve worked through several industrial cycles – the businesses that are here now are well placed to benefit from the latest technologies and innovations as well as the UK’s industrial decarbonisation and the promotion of a circular economy.

Do you have fears going forward?

In the UK, we are all in the same boat so we will continue to work together – communication is key, I don’t believe that our customers are suddenly going to walk away from us – we’ve the innovative and technical skills that they look for in their suppliers. In the drive to meet our

net zero strategies, we are developing and trialling new technologies for decarbonisation and helping volume power consumers to develop greener operating methods. But this takes time to evolve, and it requires continued investment and financial support. The next 12-18 months will challenge some British businesses more than others.

Is there anything else you’d like to tell people?

It will be important for businesses to invest in innovation and to have the support to adopt the technologies that will enable them to meet net zero targets. Unless alternative sources of energy are found quickly, we do face the increasing risk of energy outages as the existing nuclear fleet ages and increasing demands are placed on the national grid for car charging and heating generally. I believe that building small modular reactors and concentrating on fusion technologies are critical to ensure an energy supply chain that is robust, green, and reliable.

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HLM CELEBRATES 40 YEARS OF

MAKING BETTER PLACES HLM Architects recently celebrated 40 years of business in Sheffield, in which time they have been instrumental in enhancing the local area. Its ‘Thoughtful Design’ approach puts people firmly at the centre of the places and spaces they design, resulting in developments that delight and inspire clients and end users. Delia Harmston, Studio Lead, recounts how the practice has evolved and why HLM is proud of their Sheffield heritage. “I moved to Sheffield when I was 18 years old to start studying Architecture at the University of Sheffield, and I have lived here ever since. In those 26 years, I have seen our city change

enormously – from seeing Kelvin flats, the Egg Box and the Wedding Cake demolished and the tram network being constructed, to the fantastic improvements to the public realm in the city, the increasing strength and reputation of our two universities, the huge success of AMRC and AWRC, the Winter Gardens and the massive investment in the Heart of the City. I am incredibly proud to work for HLM and to be part of the current and next phases of regenerating Sheffield. Our staff live and breathe this

Now

DELIA HARMSTON city, their children go to the schools, we go to the theatres, we use the sports and music venues. As designers, we relish working in the city and

Then

making a difference on our doorstep.” Part of the Heart of the City development, the Radisson Blu will be housed behind the historic facades of Palatine Chambers and City Mews on Pinstone Street, preserving Sheffield’s Victorian heritage while enhancing the city’s social scene with a rooftop bar, restaurant, and terrace. The hotel is expected to attract new business opportunities into the city, while raising its profile as an attractive visitor destination. hlmarchitects.com

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ADVERTORIAL

FROM THE

INSIDE OUT If people are to believe in your brand, it must be built from the inside out, says marketing manager and blogger Alex Myers.

For many businesses, building a brand is almost treated like a disguise. Or a costume. It starts in the marketing department. No one wants a boring brand. ‘Useful is sometimes boring? Get out, Kyle.’ The team concocts what they’d love their business to be seen as… they reach for the stars. Up it goes to the C-Suite. ‘Not big enough. Not bold enough. Kyle’s fired.’ Some more outrageousness is layered on top - the cherry on the branding cake, and 36 layers of icing. And finally, it’s packaged up and put to the consumer. And of course, the consumer believes it. ‘Pepsi is solving social injustice with their canned beverages!’ we all said, as Kendall Jenner distributed pop in a protest scene. Oh, hang on... You see, consumers aren’t stupid. Nor were they born yesterday (a small proportion of consumers were, but new-borns have little-to-no purchasing power).

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People see through a lack of authenticity - no matter how good the creative is, no matter which celebrity you got to endorse the message, they will see through it if it’s a load of rubbish. You might want your brand to be seen that way. You may even think it’s actually like that. But they’re not buying it, and that means they’re not buying anything. Every year we see moments, like the aforementioned Pepsi spot, where this is called out on a major scale and

lands the brand in hot water. But on top of that, every single day people see ads that communicate a false brand, and these instances make people dislike advertising more. Because no one likes to be lied to. And no one likes to be treated like they’re stupid. Expecting someone to believe that laundry detergent is directly linked to social mobility, does just that. So why the

lack of authenticity? The reason so many brands aren’t authentic is because of the direction they’re built in – like my fairly hyperbolic example, they start from the outside (what the business wants to look like), and then work their way in. Only, it doesn’t work because at the core it just didn’t represent the business. Branding in that way is like trying to make people trust a shark by putting a party hat on it. The only way to build an authentic brand is from the inside out - start with who you really are as a business and go from there. Consider your strengths, approaches, who you are and what makes you you. Then develop that into an identity that you can market. Don’t like what you find? Don’t want to tell anyone about the brand that’s created? I’m afraid you need to change the business itself. Because no matter how you try to spin it, it won't work, and you'll simply build no brand. And brand building is crucial.

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FORMER MASTERCHEF STAR ANNOUNCES

'RAFFINA BY REECE ELLIOTT' Former Masterchef The Professionals contestant Reece Elliott, originally from Sheffield, has partnered with an established Sheffield restaurant to launch 'Raffina by Reece Elliott'. Reece impressed judges on the BBC TV show Masterchef: The Professionals in 2020, having previously scooped second place in Junior Masterchef of Great Britain at just 19 years old. Situated on Ecclesall Road in one of the most iconic buildings in the area, Raffina by Reece Elliott will offer a relaxed, refined dining experience and a vibrant atmosphere for people to enjoy. Raffina by Reece Elliott's new menu will launch in March and offer incredible Italian inspired food, delivered with a modern twist, using the highest quality ingredients. The restaurant will be offering its new lunch and dinner menus Wednesday – Saturday. It will also be open for drinks and Italian inspired sweet and savoury treats from the bar throughout the day Monday to Saturday. Reece has over eight years of culinary experience, including chef at the threerosette Cavendish Hotel in Baslow, Derbyshire, which has been his home for the past three years. He has cooked alongside a highly regarded line-up of Michelin starred chefs including Marcus Wareing, Monica Galetti, Raymond Blanc, Tom Kerridge and James Martin. Sous Chef Jamie Fullen will also be joining Reece at Raffina from the Cavendish.

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Reece said: "I am delighted to be announcing Raffina by Reece Elliott – it is an absolute dream come true. Running my own kitchen, designing my own menu, and having my own team is now a reality, and I couldn't think of a better location to start this new venture. "Raffina is a beautiful restaurant, and being on Ecclesall Road, just up from Endcliffe Park, is in the perfect location. "Our menu will bring a range of Italian inspired tastes. We are confident everyone will love our take on some of the classics and our new combinations. "Growing up in Sheffield, I would often admire the building that now houses Raffina. It's an iconic building on Ecclesall Road, and I am looking forward to putting it back on the map. "As a Sheffieldbased chef, this is a real landmark opportunity for me and my team to deliver the

best culinary expertise within the area." Reece is now on the lookout for people to join his team and be part of his new venture. Roles available include Chef De Partie, Pastry Chef, Kitchen Porter and several waiting staff positions. To apply or to find out more information,

please email claire.madej @redbrik.co.uk. Raffina by Reece Elliott is due to open in March 2022. The official opening date will be announced on the restaurant's social media channels and their website, www.raffina.co.uk.

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THE STORM BEFORE THE CALM Josh Weston MRICS, Lead Director at Fourth Wall Building Consultancy, gives his insight into the problems facing property owners and tenants, and how to plan for the future. As we come out of what feels like a very long winter, occupiers and landlords across the region are being hit with no end of surprise expenditures. From roof leaks to damaged cladding, properties of all shapes and sizes have fallen victim to the elements. As we work with a number of occupiers on their planned maintenance programmes for the next 5-10 years, I’ve been increasingly aware of the need to build up our clients’ understanding of their properties as we help them avoid fighting fires and plan for the future. A planned maintenance programme enables both owners and occupiers to plan any necessary works into their budget, an essential step when looking to set reliable budgets, better monitor the financial health of projects and ensure value for money is demonstrated over the life of their property. It doesn’t take me by surprise that you may be thinking ‘but do I really need it?’. It’s certainly tempting to take things as they come, but avoiding an issue can only

last so long and a forward thinking approach is essential. Reactive work more often than not proves inefficient, costly, and in severe cases results in significant failures such as water ingress or structural damage, leading to further impact on business operations and the subsequent negotiation with impacted parties who may have suffered

loss of earnings as a result. A painful prospect whether that’s your own business or one of your tenants. Believe me when I say that regular maintenance is your best friend, helping prevent small issues from becoming larger issues at a later date. I’ve seen a lot of properties in my time, and the biggest, and most common, issues I come across nearly always stem from a lack of routine maintenance. Ignoring that leak, putting off replacing those roof tiles, and leaving the potholes until they get really bad always lead to more issues down the line. If you’re leasing a commercial space, it can also mean a pretty hefty bill when it comes to your dilapidations responsibilities during or at the end of your lease. Given the increasing need for efficient use of our resources, energy efficiency in the built environment and reducing waste, regular

maintenance is an essential way of reducing deterioration of buildings and preventing unnecessary damage, ensuring properties operate at optimum efficiency, protect the health and safety of occupants, and ensure continued compliance with statutory requirements. Simply put, a Planned Maintenance Report allows you to anticipate future costs of building work to your property so that you can budget for them and ensure repair works fit in around your business and cause the least disturbance possible. Whilst not everyone is as passionate about buildings as I am, there’s certainly something rewarding in enabling owners and occupiers to proactively maintain, manage and improve their properties for years to come. Fourth Wall Building Consultancy is a Chartered Building Surveyors working with clients across the UK on commercial, industrial, residential and heritage properties. The team can be found online at fourthwallbc.com or via 0114 400 0254.

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ADVERTORIAL

HEALTH & SAFETY

BY WAYNE FLETCHER, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN FLETCHER Wayne shares an insight into the often overlooked Safety Adviser role

FOCUS ON... THE SAFETY ADVISER ROLE As a construction consultancy business, we provide a number of services including Project Management, Quantity Surveying and Contract Administration which are all related specifically to the construction industry. We also provide construction related Health and Safety services which includes the Principal Designer role. However, there is one role that we offer which is not solely linked to the construction industry and which we provide to businesses in a variety of sectors, and that is the Safety Adviser role. Unfortunately, this is a role that is sometimes overlooked by businesses who just simply don’t realise they need it.

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If you own a business, as an employer you have a responsibility under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 for health and safety in your workplace. The regulations state that; ‘Every employer shall appoint one or more competent persons to assist him in undertaking the measures he needs to take to comply with the requirements and prohibitions imposed upon him by or under the relevant statutory provisions’. An appointed person can be an employee of your business, however, if you do not have the resources or expertise in house, it may be necessary to appoint an external health and safety adviser to help you

If you own a business, as an employer you have a responsibility for health and safety in your workplace.

meet and comply with your health and safety duties. This is where we can help. At Austin Fletcher we have the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to help you manage health and safety and assist you in undertaking your duties effectively. We offer this service on an annual basis which we find is the most beneficial for our clients. If you would like to talk to us about the Safety Adviser role in more detail or have a need for any of the other services that we offer, please get in touch: you can find our contact details below. Call: 01142 138 305 Email: WayneFletcher@ AustinFletcher.co.uk Online: AustinFletcher.co.uk

ADVERTORIAL

LAWYER JAY IS NOW A TOP TEN HUMAN RESOURCES SPECIALIST Award-winning Sheffield employment lawyer Jay Bhayani has been named a UK Top 10 HR adviser. Solicitor Jay, MD of Bhayani Law and recently-launched sister company Bhayani Recruitment, won the accolade from The Enterprise Nation, a campaigning voice and online community of 75,000 small businesses and advisers. Its annual Top 50 Advisers Awards, hosted by founder Emma Jones CBE, saw 50 finalists vie for the best small business adviser title in ten categories. Judges said: “Jay enables her clients to find and keep the best staff for their business success, while also providing free HR training – educating on the employee lifecycle to ensure business owners take responsibility for compliance and contracts and policies.”

Jay has established an impressive reputation as one of the leading employment lawyers in the Yorkshire region and has won various accolades, including Yorkshire Lawyer’s Employment Lawyer of the Year and ABDN Professional of the Year. Bhayani Law recently won the British Chamber of Commerce’s UK Business Hero 2020 title for tirelessly working to give businesses essential advice through the COVID-19 pandemic. The firm organised free webinars, workshops and newsletters to keep companies across the nation abreast of employment law implications for the furlough scheme and redundancies. The firm acted ‘because it was the right thing to do’ and

was nominated by Sheffield Chamber of Commerce. “I am very proud to win the Enterprise Nation HR award, particularly as over 500 advisers entered and the final votes were cast by the public – people we work for. “It brings national recognition for my team,” said Jay, whose company is headquartered in Sheffield’s Shoreham Street and now has satellite offices in Leeds, Leicester and London. “Since launching in 2005, Enterprise Nation has helped thousands of people start and grow businesses. I have found its support really valuable since becoming a member and have enjoyed staging seminars for its community.” Jay has over 25 years of sector experience and

is also an Entrepreneur in Residence at Sheffield Hallam University and a member of its management school advisory board. Bhayani Recruitment was launched during the pandemic after recognising the need for a holistic approach to recruiting and retaining staff within one trusted brand. It works hand-in-hand with the existing employment law firm to cover the whole employee lifecycle, from recruitment to termination, and is donating 10 per cent of yearly profits to its charity clients. bhayanilaw.co.uk

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ADVERTORIAL

SHEFFIELD CHAMBER: THE PAST, PRESENT AND INTO THE FUTURE Not many people will remember the Sheffield Chamber president of 1965/66. The position was held by Ruben Viner of Sheffield based silversmiths, Viners Ltd. And in that very same year, his granddaughter was born. Why mention a President from over half a century ago? Because this year we welcome that granddaughter, Tracy Viner, into the Sheffield Chamber team as our new Executive Manager. For many involved in Sheffield Chamber, Tracy may be a familiar name. She has had links with the Chamber since joining our Council in 2004 and has held positions on various committees over the years. Most recently serving as Vice Chair of the Nominations Committee overseeing the latest intake of Non-Executive Directors and Council members. And more recently, working as a consultant to the Chamber delivering the South Yorkshire-wide Brexit Support Project and various internal improvements. She will now be working with the wider Chamber team, including interim Executive Directors, Louisa and Alexis, to drive the Chamber forward during what will be a critical year for the organisation and the city. Like many of us, Tracy will be inspired by the past but also focused on the future. Why? Because Sheffield needs a Chamber of the future. This year we will be

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FORMER CHAMBER PRESIDENT AND TRACY'S GRANDFATHER, RUBEN VINER

focusing even more thought and energy on redesigning the services and support that our businesses need in this increasingly fast-changing environment we live in.

This will involve working on internal processes to become more efficient, as well as supporting the Chamber team to design an exciting range of training and events

for members. Tracy will be at the centre of working collaboratively with key organisations across South Yorkshire to build a truly agile skills system and to Level Up Futures in Sheffield; a new programme to help local businesses inspire the next generation in our city’s schools. Tracy calls Sheffield home and has passion for this city and its potential. She is quick to say if we work together; businesses, the Council, the Universities, all the key stakeholders… the sky is the limit. As Ruben looks down on the city he once called home he might recognise little after half a century of change, but he would recognise the constant presence of Sheffield Chamber. He will also be proud of the fact his granddaughter is now part of a team that is taking the Chamber forward to ensure it celebrates and promotes businesses of the past, present and future.

FEATURE

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FEATURE

IS SIMON BILT

TO BE MAYOR? The South Yorkshire mayoral election is set to dominate the spring’s political agenda in our region. unLTD’s Richard Fidler spoke with print entrepreneur Simon Biltcliffe, who is one of the candidates.

It was a good day to be chatting to entrepreneur Simon Biltcliffe about politics. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was on his feet at the dispatch box in the House of Commons apologising to the country for his role in the illfated gathering in the Downing Street garden during the first lockdown in May 2020. It’s fair to say that Boris is the very antithesis of how Simon wishes to be seen as he takes his first steps into the political arena as the Yorkshire Party candidate in the South Yorkshire mayoral elections, which take place on May 5. While Boris is blustering, bewildering and, it could be said, politically beyond help, Simon is sincere in his hopes to make our part of Yorkshire a better place. “The main aim for me standing in the South Yorkshire elections is to raise the wider issue of Yorkshire devolution,” he tells unLTD over a full English breakfast at Birdhouse in Sidney Street. “Yorkshire is such a diverse, brilliant place and we are being left behind by decisions made by government in London. Our population and economy is bigger than Scotland and Wales yet they are able – in different ways – to have far more control over decisions that directly

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impact their people than we do. “This election is just the start of my journey in politics. For a long time I was a member of the Labour party but I find them less and less reflecting my views so I was pleased to become the Yorkshire Party candidate.” Spend any time in Simon’s company and you can understand why he has been such a successful businessman. His printing firm Webmart turns over £20m from its bases in Oxfordshire and Barnsley and he has spoken widely about his ‘Marxist-capitalist’ approach to business – not least in the very first issue of unLTD. You may expect someone who is entering the political arena to speak in soundbites, particularly if they have a background in business leadership but this is not the case. A Barnsley accent always provides an air of straighttalking however Simon is considered in his answers, a skill he puts down to his love of history. “I never understand when people say they aren’t interested in history,” he said. “At your fingertips you have literally thousands of years of case studies, which not only tell you what happened but also

The main aim for me standing in the South Yorkshire elections is to raise the wider issue of Yorkshire devolution. what happened next. “For a leader this is an invaluable resource. You can read about the mistakes people make, the fall-out from those mistakes and what was the outcome over time. History gives you a sense of perspective which is important in business as well as politics.” The reality of local politics means it is unlikely that Simon will be named as the new mayor of South Yorkshire when the votes are counted. The battle to determine the Labour candidate, in all probability, will decide that. However, having such a respected figure as Simon campaigning across our area

should make people sit up and think. He said: “The Yorkshire Party has a clear focus and vision. Labour and the Conservatives may have representation here but their decisions are made with the whole country in mind, and at best the whole of the north. “I think we deserve better than that. Schemes such as HS2 were designed to make London more accessible to northerners, not the other way around. Who ever heard of someone in London saying they wanted to be in Leeds 20 minutes quicker? “By being able to make our own decisions in areas such as transport we can fix things like the ridiculously poor connectivity we have across the Pennines. Those roads are just cart tracks and aren’t fit for what we need. “That’s just one example where we can make improvements that directly impact the quality of life of the people in Yorkshire. With devolution we can do even more.” There’s still a debate to be had about how successful the South Yorkshire mayor’s role is, with Simon now committed to the election it’ll be interesting to see how the people of our area respond to broadening it county wide.

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START-UPS

HOW TO GET YOUR START-UP

INVESTMENT-READY Kerry Russell, legal director at Shakespeare Martineau, on how start-ups can make sure they are ready for investment. With the pandemic creating a wave of entrepreneurialism, many new businesses may be seeking cash injections. Product innovation, market size and strong financial forecasts will peak an investor’s interest in your business. When ploughing money into a company, investors want to know their outlay is a safe bet. There are multiple steps start-ups can take to ensure they have the best chance of securing the cash needed.

CORPORATE STRUCTURE It’s unlikely an investor will give money to an individual, so it’s important to have a corporate structure in place. Having a good idea is a great place to start, but most growing business are operated through a corporate vehicle that enables you to contract with other people – as well as eliminate personal liability for damages. Limited companies or limited liability partnerships (LLPs) are often used.

CONTRACTUAL ARRANGEMENTS Investors will need to see you’ve got proper contractual arrangements established, so that everything you think applies to that relationship is agreed in writing. Supplier and customer arrangements should be governed by some sort of contract that covers limitation of liability,

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termination, price and deliverables, for example. Confidential information – which is protected when someone owes an obligation of confidence to someone else – is also something that needs to be thought about. While an obligation may sometimes be owed under common law, it is better if it arises formally under a contractual arrangement with a non-disclosure agreement in place.

OWNERSHIP OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Intellectual property (IP) – which might be, for example, copyright that exists in source code for software, patents that protect inventions or trademarks to safeguard brands – is a really important factor that people miss all the time. IP is usually the most valuable asset of a start-up business, so it’s crucial to get advice on what rights may be registered to get the best protection, particularly as investors will want to see this. Investors will also want to make sure that any IP is owned by the corporate vehicle into which they are investing, and that third parties do not have conflicting rights.

obligations to the company and that anything they create belongs to the business.

REGULATORY Even if you’re only holding customer or employee details, almost all companies will need to comply with data protection law. Depending on the sector there will be other regulations to be aware of. The financial penalties for noncompliance can be significant. An investor may back out of the

deal if you aren’t complying with the necessary regulations as the risk of severe fines is too large.

CONSEQUENCES While an investor is unlikely to pull their cash straight away if none of the above actions are in place, it may negatively affect the investment as the risk profile will have changed. Carrying out your due diligence checks upfront is key to ensuring you secure the investment you need for future growth.

EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS While not all start-ups employ people, if you do, make sure there are contracts in place so employees know the scope of their roles, their

THE No.1 CHOICE Robert Sorby is the World’s premier manufacturer and exporter of specialist woodworking tools and associated equipment, with a proud Sheffield heritage dating back nearly 200 years. Robert Sorby has developed a truly global reputation for manufacturing the finest edge tools in the world. It is one of the Sheffield’s oldest manufacturers.

Made by Craftsmen for Craftsmen

Want to know more about Robert Sorby? Contact us today.

www.robert-sorby.co.uk Robert Sorby, Athol Road, Sheffield S8 0PA ENGLAND Tel: +44 (0) 114 225 0700 E-mail: sales@robert-sorby.co.uk

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL @ROBERTSORBY Made In Sheffield Mark, a symbol of the City region’s ongoing commitment to quality and excellence.

YOUR PITCH

YOGA MY LIFE Founded by Farah-Naz Khan, a renowned Holistic Yoga Therapist, Trainer and Social Entrepreneur, Yoga My Life is an innovative natural vegan skincare, wellness and training company based in Sheffield.

Tell us about your business – sell yourselves! Our mission focused on empowering individuals to take ownership of their health and wellbeing by viewing daily rituals as opportunities to “check in with themselves.” We advocate that by putting self-care at the heart of your daily rituals it is possible to achieve better balance and function, not only in our bodies and minds, but by improving personal effectiveness and productivity in both your work and personal life. We have extensive knowledge and expertise in the field of training, yoga, wellbeing and massage. We offer a holistic range of products and training solutions to promote self care, including Afterglow (a natural, vegan and cruelty free skincare range that is enriched with botanicals, natural oils and mood enhancing aromatics that are kind to the skin and the planet), AQUAinted (a range of premium steel eco-friendly reusable water bottles) and our new Training Courses that have been developed to incorporate underlying Ayurvedic principles and yoga inspired practices. Our natural, vegan and planet friendly products, services and resources reflect our ongoing commitment to contribute to sustainable practices and promote a planet conscious culture. Farah-Naz Khan, the company founder and a former winner of Best Start

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sharing our knowledge, expertise and learning. We love to see people succeed and flourish in their chosen paths and get a real buzz from the feedback we receive. Our customer base begins with anyone interested in empowered sustainable living, committing to using natural, vegan skincare and wellness products and extends to individuals, organisations and practitioners in the beauty and wellness sector. We are looking to expand into retail, salons, spas, yoga studios, gyms and independent natural health stores as the brand evolves. Yoga My Life has already gained recognition from the IPHM (International Practitioners of Holistic Medicine) and Yoga Alliance Professionals and Guild of Holistic Therapists for our skills based training programmes, direct provision, products and services.

YOGA MY LIFE FOUMDER, FARAH-NAZ KHAN

YOGA MY LIFE'S HOLISTIC PRODUCT RANGE

Up Social Enterprise for Sheffield in the Yorkshire & Humberside Enterprise Awards has a keen interest in building skills, creating health opportunities and challenging health inequalities. Having studied and lived in Sheffield for over 35 years, Farah has worked in the fields of academic research, community development,

social enterprise, business support, training, health and wellbeing. Farah has a creative passion for building sustainable solutions based on knowledge and personal experience to make a positive difference. Who are your customers and how are you targeting them? We are passionate about

How can people get in touch with you? We are keen to work collaboratively and relish the opportunity to grow and develop our range of products and services, as well as support others on their journey through Business Mentoring. Please visit our website www.yogamylife.co.uk and Instagram profile @yogamylife.now for more information. All email equiries should be directed to team@yogamylife.co.uk

ADVERTORIAL

HELP BUILD A HELIPAD AT

SHEFFIELD CHILDREN’S

HOSPITAL THIS YEAR In 2021 the new Cancer and Leukaemia Ward at Sheffield Children’s Hospital opened to patients and families. The Children’s Hospital Charity is now moving on to the next stage of their appeal to transform the facilities at Sheffield Children’s by fundraising to build a Helipad on the roof of the hospital.

THE PROPOSED HELIPAD AT SHEFFIELD CHILDREN’S

In total, £6million is needed to build the Helipad with over £3million already raised thanks to the support of generous businesses, trusts, groups and individuals. Sheffield Children’s is the only Major Trauma Centre in South Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire that receives children under 16 years of age and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. The hospital also provides emergency services for Bassetlaw and North Derbyshire. Currently air ambulances can only land in Weston Park opposite the hospital. This is only usable in daylight hours, which particularly restricts its use

during winter months, and cannot be used during public events. The park is also across from a busy road which means staff must press the button to cross the road in an emergency incident, which adds further delays in a situation where every second is critical. Building a Helipad on the roof would ensure air ambulances can land and be transferred anytime with flood lighting. When the weather sets in, the new helipad would also have electric trace heating incorporated into the deck to ensure that ice and snow do not disrupt the continued use of the facility during periods of inclement weather. Could you and your

colleagues help make this a reality for Sheffield Children’s Hospital in 2022? There are lots of ways to get involved and support The Children’s Hospital Charity this year. From running the Sheffield Half Marathon to jumping

out of planes and trekking to Machu Picchu. Visit www.tchc.org.uk to find out more and how you can help or contact support@tchc.org.uk to request an events calendar in the post to put up in your office!

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CHARITY PROFILE

unLTD. Connecting business across Sheffield City Region #47

Articles inside

FOCUS ON: HOW ARE BUSINESSES BEING AFFECTED BY RISING ENERGY COSTS?

IF YOU ASK ME: SPORT IN THE COMMUNITY 74 IS SIMON BILT TO BE MAYOR?

COVER STORY: SHEFFIELD EAGLES HEAD COACH, MARK ASTON